Titles starting with M from Murphy's Downtown Books

dust jacket : A protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book.

plate : Full page illustration or photograph. Plates are printed separately from the text of the book, and bound in at production. I.e., they are not sewn as parts of gatherings.

Cloth : Generally refers to a hardcover with cloth covering the outside of the book covers.

boards : Common term for the covers of a hardbound book.

spine : The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf. Also known as the back.

remainder mark : Usually an ink marking of some sort which indicates that the book was designated a remainder. In most cases, it can be found on the edges of the text block in the form of a marker stripe or a stamp of some sort.

Remainder marks considerably lower the overall collectibility of a title, although, in some cases, they are acceptable to a collector.

Cloth : Generally refers to a hardcover with cloth covering the outside of the book covers.

jacket : Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book

octavo : A book whose page size is approximately 12 inches by 9 inches. The size is based on a sheet of paper 25 inches by 38 inches, the size of paper traditionally used by book printers, which has been cut into eight pages.

endpaper : The double leaves bound into a book at the front and rear after printing. One side is glued to the inner portion of the boards (the paste-down) and the other is left loose (free endpaper).

Cloth : Generally refers to a hardcover with cloth covering the outside of the book covers.

4to : Or quarto. A term used generally to describe the approximate size of a book, a book that is about 10" to 12" tall and roughly squarish in shape. The term is based on the size of paper traditionally used by book printers which has been folded and cut into 16 pages.

shelfwear : Minor wear resulting from a book being place on, and taken from a bookshelf, especially along the bottom edge.

remainder : Book(s) which are sold at a very deep discount to alleviate publisher overstock. Often, though not always, they have a remainder mark.

Ex-library : A former library book, generally containing library acquisition and ownership stamped markings, and other typical indications of the library's use.

shelfwear : Minor wear resulting from a book being place on, and taken from a bookshelf, especially along the bottom edge.

boards : Common term for the covers of a hardbound book.

dust jacket : A protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book.

spine : The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf. Also known as the back.

Cloth : Generally refers to a hardcover with cloth covering the outside of the book covers.

dust jacket : A protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book.

Cloth : Generally refers to a hardcover with cloth covering the outside of the book covers.

boards : Common term for the covers of a hardbound book.

dust jacket : A protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book.

jacket : Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book

price clipped : The portion of the dust jacket flap where the publisher prints the suggested price has been cut away. Usually this is a clean 1-2" diagonal cut made with scissors.

Cloth : Generally refers to a hardcover with cloth covering the outside of the book covers.

shelfwear : Minor wear resulting from a book being place on, and taken from a bookshelf, especially along the bottom edge.

jacket : Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book

first thus : Indicates that this is not the first appearance of a book in print, but that this is the first appearance in a substantially different format than the true first edition. For example, a first illustrated edition of a book, or even a first paperback release of a book originally published in hard cover.

jacket : Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book

reading copy : Indicates a book that is perfectly serviceable for reading. It may have a defect or damage.

Cloth : Generally refers to a hardcover with cloth covering the outside of the book covers.

dust jacket : A protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps around the binding of a book.

price clipped : The portion of the dust jacket flap where the publisher prints the suggested price has been cut away. Usually this is a clean 1-2" diagonal cut made with scissors.

Ex-library : A former library book, generally containing library acquisition and ownership stamped markings, and other typical indications of the library's use.

4to : Or quarto. A term used generally to describe the approximate size of a book, a book that is about 10" to 12" tall and roughly squarish in shape. The term is based on the size of paper traditionally used by book printers which has been folded and cut into 16 pages.

Cloth : Generally refers to a hardcover with cloth covering the outside of the book covers.